Maria’s newest book, The Reckoning of Rheged, is newly out, so I invited her to talk about her books, set in northern Britain in the early-medieval period.
Hi all, today on this guest blog post (thanks again Marian!) I thought I’d talk about the real history behind the kingdom of Rheged.
The series began in 2018 with my debut novel, The Boy from the Snow. It’s the story of my main character Daniel, a warrior who must choose who his friends and foes really are when he discovers a truth about his past. The sequel The Veiled Wolf was published in 2019.
The Reckoning of Rheged, the third novel in the series, was just published last week, so I thought it would be an apt time to revisit the historical backdrop.
The Real Rheged – the setting
Allow me to share a bit more about the historical world of Rheged. This map of North Rheged was designed by my friend Beth Baguely.
As you’ll see on the map, the Kingdom of Rheged was a real Brittonic Kingdom that spanned much of Cumbria, Lancashire and into Cheshire, stretching as far east as the Pennines. The capital city of the kingdom was Caer Ligualid, based in modern day Carlisle. King Urien, Rheged’s most famous king who ruled over the entire kingdom, really did exist, as did his son Prince Owain.
While the kingdom of North Rheged and its city Caer Ligualid really existed, the smaller kingdoms of Gaeson and Klumeck are purely fictional. I set Gaeson at Gummer’s How, a hill near Lake Windermere at the heart of the Lake District. The kingdom of Klumeck is much further to the east, at the border to the kingdom of Bernicia. I imagine it would be based in the Pennines, perhaps Cross Fell.
The Real Rheged – the History
When writing this history of kings and war and Daniel going on a quest or two, it really can feel like a fantasy, especially with the main characters being fictional. However, I have also really tried to intertwine the fictional story with the historical, from large-scale battles recorded, to small little details like what my characters would have eaten and worn during this time.
One of my most enjoyable aspects of writing historical fiction is to have Daniel meet the real historical figures of Rheged. Another one of the most famous characters Daniel encounters is King Urien’s bard, Taliesin. Taliesin was one of North Rheged’s most famous poets, whose work is still read today. In fact, his writings are a substantial part of Welsh classic/historical literature, as well as recording much of the primary sources that we have for the period.
Not to spoil things too much, but the antagonist in the third novel is also based on a real historical figure who opposed Rheged’s kings. A lot of my research was done online. The early writings of Taliesin, as well as the monk Bede, have been crucial to research. I also have a one or two historical reference books I go back to again and again that cover the era as a whole.
After deciding on the era for the story, it took a lot of research to understand the way people would have lived. Details like what they would have eaten, how they would have dressed and what names people would have had were frequent Google searches, as well as the religious scene/worldview of the time. The worldview of Celtic Rheged is predominantly Christian, due to the Roman influence from when they occupied Britain a couple of centuries before.
The Real Rheged – the worldview
As a Christian myself, being able to have my faith naturally bleed into my writing was another reason for picking the era I did. Although the book is not specifically Christian fiction, Daniel talks openly about his faith and I do pick up on some Christian themes. This is one of the reasons my MC is called Daniel, as well as another few side characters (Sarah, John, Joshua, Rachel, Ruth). I tried to have a few names that were biblical in origin, due to the Roman influence. The vast majority of names, though, are Brittonic Celtic.
Whilst I’m by no means a historical expert on the era, I’m hoping that through telling Daniel’s story – and now Imogen’s – it sheds some light (no pun intended) onto the Dark Ages. Hopefully it will spark imagination of what this world was really like. Ultimately, I hope you enjoy reading about Rheged as much as I have done writing about it.
If you’re interested in checking out my historical fiction, all three of my books are available on Amazon, as either Ebook or paperback. They’re also in KU.
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Thanks for having me!
Maria
marianlthorpe.com 